News Brief
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau.
In the background of severe diplomatic strain between India and Canada over the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently met Indian PM Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Italy.
Following their brief exchange, Trudeau stated that there was a commitment to collaborate with India on addressing some "very important issues."
During the G7 Summit in Apulia, Italy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had bilateral meetings with leaders from several countries, including Italy, France, and Japan. However, with the Canadian Prime Minister, he engaged in only a courtesy interaction.
PM Modi later made a brief post, stating he “met Canadian PM Justin Trudeau at the G7 Summit,” reflecting the ongoing strain over Canada's allegation that Indian agents were involved in Nijjar's murder, an accusation India has strongly rejected as “absurd and motivated.”
India has also accused Canada of supporting anti-India elements.
He told reporters, "I'm not going to get into the details of this important, sensitive issue that we need to follow up on, but this was a commitment to work together, in the coming times, to deal with some very important issues."
The Canadian Prime Minister's Office mentioned that the leaders had a "brief discussion on the bilateral relationship," during which Trudeau congratulated Modi on his re-election.
India also did not release a separate statement regarding PM Modi's interaction with Trudeau, maintaining that the main issue is Canada's support of pro-Khalistan elements and expecting Ottawa to take strong action against these groups.
At the summit, PM Modi also held bilateral meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Additionally, he met with US President Joe Biden.